From a distance they resemble autumn leaves: millions of monarch butterflies covering the trees in a kaleidoscope of brown, orange and black.
As the cold mountain air warms, they soar above the awe-inspiring visitors who have come to see an annual tradition that endures despite the environmental and human threats that keep it at risk.
Each year, monarch butterflies travel up to 3,000 kilometers from the eastern United States and Canada to winter in the forests of central and western Mexico.
Winter weekends draw hundreds of visitors to Sierra Chincua, an idyllic getaway in the western state of Michoacán, about three hours from Mexico City.
Sierra Chincua was included in the protected area of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in 1986, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and covers approximately 56,000 hectares.
“Tourism helps preserve the forest, so we support our families,” said Juan Vidal, one of dozens of rangers who patrol the forest and work as guides.
Today, Vidal, 54, says there are fewer monarch butterflies than when he was a child.
Monarch butterfly populations have declined by 22% to 72% over the past decade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which declared the species endangered in July.
Scientists blame climate change, pesticides and illegal logging for the population decline.
The abundance of monarch butterflies in their wintering states of Michoacán and the neighboring state of Mexico expanded to 18 hectares in the mid-1990s. But last winter the area shrunk to just 3 hectares.
However, last year’s migration offered a glimmer of hope for the monarch’s future. The presence in Mexico has increased by more than a third compared to 2020.
Luis Martínez, one of Sierra Chincua’s rangers, hopes there will be more improvements this year. “We have more butterflies this year, we catch more because the colony is bigger,” he said.
When the monarchs arrive in early November, around Mexico’s Day of the Dead, some locals see the butterflies as the return of ancestors’ souls.
Visitor Lizbeth Cerrato said it was a “unique experience,” as if they were “flying souls.”
“There is an infinite number of feelings that are linked together.” (rts)
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
